Conversations on vegetable physiology ; comprehending the elements of botany, with their application to agriculture / Mrs. Marcet.

  • Marcet, Mrs. (Jane Haldimand), 1769-1858.
Date:
1839
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Conversations on vegetable physiology ; comprehending the elements of botany, with their application to agriculture / Mrs. Marcet. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    41/492 (page 5)
    Let us now proceed to inquire, Avliat is the princi])al distinction between the two classes of organised beings, the animal and the vegetable creation. CAROLINE. Animals are endowed with a power of locomotion, whilst vegetables are attached to the soil. MRS. B. That is true, and it will, perhaps, be as well to begin by ascertaining the cause whence this difference arises. Animals are provided with a cavity called a stomach, in which they deposit a store of food, whence they are con- tinually deriving nourishment. This organ is essential to them, as they are not constantly supplied with food : they do not always find it within their reach ; they must wander in search of it; and were they not fm- nished with such a storehouse, they would be frequently in danger of perishing. EMILY. But surely we are not in want of continual nourish- ment ; should we die if our stomachs ivere quite empty ? MRS. B. No, not immediately ; for though the system requires constant renovation, Nature is so careful of the preserv- ation of its creatures, that she not only affords them the means of subsistence, but provides resources in cases of accidental interruption of the supply : after having con- sumed, or rather, I should say, assimilated the food contained in the stomach, the fat of animals is made to contribute to the nourishment of their organs, and to the support of life. In some, such as the dormouse and the polar hear, this provision is carried to such an extent, that they pass several of the winter months in a state of inanition ; during which period, the only sus- tenance they receive is from the abundant provision of fat which they make during the summer ; and when B 3